Dynamic tactile interface

ABSTRACT

A method and system for exciting a dynamic tactile interface having a plurality of electrodes includes identifying an area within an image that is capable of tactile feedback and identifying a first subset of the plurality of electrodes in the dynamic tactile interface that correspond to the plurality of areas. A voltage is applied to each of the electrodes of to the plurality of electrodes to create a desired state for each electrode corresponding to the areas capable of tactile feedback. The dynamic tactile interface can be implemented as part of a viewable display type of device, or as a device without any viewable display.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/396,787, filed Mar. 3, 2009, and entitled Elastomeric Wave TactileInterface.

BACKGROUND

The disclosure relates to tactile interfaces, and more specifically todynamic tactile interfaces.

Tactile devices with displays and interfaces are becoming increasinglyimportant as computing, communications, and gaming platforms proliferateand as their capabilities increase. Developers are continually lookingfor additional ways to convey information, and for novel anddifferentiating human interfaces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description will be better understood when readin conjunction with the appended claims, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which there is shown one or more of themultiple embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood,however, that the various embodiments of the present disclosure are notlimited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in thedrawings.

In the Drawings:

FIG. 1A is a side view illustrating a dynamic tactile device with atouch screen interface;

FIG. 1B is a side view illustrating an “indent” state of a cellaccording to the dynamic tactile device of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C is a side view illustrating a “bump” state of a cell accordingto the dynamic tactile device of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a top-down view illustrating the dynamic tactile device ofFIG. 1A;

FIG. 2B is an elevated view illustrating excitation of individualelectrodes according to the dynamic tactile device of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 3A is a circuit diagram illustrating a charge circuit according tothe dynamic tactile device of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 3B is a block diagram illustrating an addressing scheme accordingto the dynamic tactile device of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 4A is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device includingembodiments of the dynamic tactile device of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4B is a side view illustrating a user-interface surface accordingto the dynamic tactile device of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of exciting electrodesaccording to the dynamic tactile device of FIG. 1A; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a computer and/or architecturethrough which the multiple embodiments of the present disclosure may beimplemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings,similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless contextdictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in thedetailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made,without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matterpresented here. It will be readily understood that the aspects of thepresent disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated inthe Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, and designed in awide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitlycontemplated and make part of this disclosure.

Briefly stated, the multiple embodiments of the present disclosureinclude a method of exciting a dynamic tactile interface having aplurality of electrodes including identifying an area within an imagethat is capable of tactile feedback and identifying a first subset ofthe plurality of electrodes in the tactile device that correspond to theareas. A voltage is applied to the first subset plurality of electrodesto create a desired state for each electrode corresponding to the areascapable of tactile feedback.

A dynamic tactile interface includes an electrostatic film, a pluralityof electrodes, a plurality of support members located in between andperpendicular to the electrostatic film and the plurality of electrodes,and a plurality of charge circuits coupled to the plurality ofelectrodes. A controller is configured to determine areas within animage that are configured for tactile feedback, determine a subset ofthe electrodes that correspond to the areas, and send an excitationsignal to excite the first subset of electrodes. The dynamic tactileinterface can be implemented as part of a viewable display type ofdevice, or as a device without any viewable display.

A dynamic tactile interface for use in devices with touch screens isdisclosed. FIG. 4A is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device402 including the dynamic tactile interface 10 of the presentdisclosure. The dynamic tactile interface 10 allows all or portions ofan image to be presented to a user 401 through their sense of touch. Thedynamic tactile interface 10 may enhance the user experience by placinga “bump” 116 or “indent” 114 in specific areas of the device wheretactile feedback is beneficial. The dynamic tactile interface can beimplemented as part of a viewable display type of device, or as a devicewithout any viewable display. In some embodiments, a tactile image orportion of a tactile image corresponding to a visual image 14 ispresented through the dynamic tactile interface 10. For example, inorder to improve the accuracy of finger-based text entry, tactilefeedback is provided to the user 401 in certain areas of the dynamictactile interface 10 that correspond to areas of a displayed visualimage 14 that require tactile feedback. In some embodiments, the dynamictactile interface 10 presents information that is not intended forvisual display, such as Braille or other information that is only to bepresented by a tactile interface.

In the case of an image that can be presented for visual display, aportion of the image, such as a scene, background, component of theimage (e.g., floor, ground) may be presented through the tactileinterface. In some embodiments the user 401 views an image whileinformation corresponding to the image (e.g., surfaces or particularinformation in the image) is presented through the tactile display. Aprocessor (not shown) in combination with the appropriate software canbe utilized to determine what portions of the visual image are to beinterpreted or selected for display through the tactile display.

In some embodiments, the displayed visual image 14 is, for example, agraphical user interface between a user 401 and the electronic device402. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 4A, the dynamic tactile interface10 forms at least part of the user interface (UI) 20 between the user401 and the electronic device 402. During operation of the electronicdevice 402, the displayed visual image 14 may change, in response todetecting a user interaction with the dynamic tactile interface, thuscreating different areas of the device 10 that provide opportunity fortactile feedback. For example, the visual image 14 on the device 10 maybe a web page that includes buttons, links or other indicia 16 forselection or “clicking” by a user. The areas of these indicia 16 on thevisual image 14 are the areas of tactile feedback on the dynamic tactileinterface 10 for which increased accuracy or ease of use may be desired.

The dynamic tactile interface 10 may be implemented in, on, or inconjunction with any electronic device 402 generally known in the arthaving or utilizing a touch screen interface (e.g., computer, laptop,video game screen or console, personal digital assistant, mobile phone,mobile media player, other touch-screen interfaces, etc.). In someembodiments, the dynamic tactile interface 10 is implemented in or aspart of the touch screen interface of a mobile phone. In some additionalembodiments, the electrostatic tactile interface 10 is implemented in atactile keyboard and provides tactile feedback in areas of a keyboardwhere the keys are normally located. In still some other embodiments,the dynamic tactile interface 10 is implemented in a non-viewable partof a device, such as in the touchpad of a laptop computer and providestactile feedback, for example, in the areas of the touchpad thatrepresent the left and right mouse buttons. In one example, virtualbuttons of an input device (e.g., a keypad, a keyboard, arrow keys,characters, numbers, symbols, etc.) might be presented by tactilefeedback on the dynamic tactile interface 10. The texture of the virtualbuttons (e.g., an outline of a key, a detent or registration dot for akey, Braille representations, etc.) for the input device might also bepresented with tactile feedback within the virtual buttons on thedynamic tactile interface 10, such that multiple virtual buttons may bedistinguished from one another.

FIG. 1A is a side view illustrating a dynamic tactile device with atouch screen interface. The dynamic tactile interface 10 may includepartially conducting layer 101, an electrostatic film 102, a pluralityof cells 112, a plurality of support members 103, and a plurality ofelectrodes 104. The individual support members 103 are each either alongitudinal member or a latitudinal member; the plurality of supportmembers 103 are arranged to form a cell matrix, which may be comprisedof an uniform integral body (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 2A) or asseparate, disjointed longitudinal and latitudinal members (not shown).The plurality of support members 103 support the electrostatic film 102and separate the electrostatic film 102 from the electrodes 104, withthe electrostatic film 102 being placed on top of the plurality ofsupport members 103 and the electrodes 104 on the bottom of the supportmembers 103. Cells 112 are formed by the interior space bounded by thecombination of the plurality of support members 103, the electrostaticfilm 102, and electrodes 104.

FIG. 4B is a side view illustrating a user-interface surface accordingto the dynamic tactile interface of FIG. 1A with the electrostatic film102 and the partially conductive layer 101 acting as the user-interfacesurface between the user 401 and the touch screen device 402.

The support members 103 are arranged generally perpendicular to both theelectrostatic film 102 and the electrodes 104. The support members 103are arranged in a cell matrix layout with an electrode 104 located atthe bottom of the cell 112. For example, if the support members 103 arearranged so that there is a 5×10 matrix, then the electrodes 104 arearranged in a 5×10 matrix with each individual electrode 104corresponding to a single cell 112 in the cell matrix. The supportmembers 103 may be made of any number of materials generally known inthe art having dielectric constants that minimize tunneling betweenadjacent electrodes, including positive or negative photoresist (e.g.,epoxy-based polymer, phenol formaldehyde resin). The support members 103may be rectangular, hexagonal, circular, or of another shape, andprovide the structure against which the electrostatic film 102 isattracted to, or repelled from, the bottom electrodes 104. In someembodiments, the support members 103 are formed in a manner such thatthey can “breathe,” allowing air to enter and exit the cell 112. In someembodiments, the support members 103 are sealed with a negative orpositive pressure, thus creating a steady indent state or bump state(described in greater detail below).

The electrostatic film 102 is formed from any number of materialsgenerally known in the art having appropriate properties for the dynamictactile interface, including materials of the triboelectric series(e.g., silicone rubber, PTFE, PCTFE, PVC, polypropylene, andpolyethylene). Other materials having sufficient elasticity such thatthey allow for the creation of indents and bumps may also be used. Insome embodiments, the electrostatic film 102 has a generally constantnegative charge. In some embodiments, a partially conductive layer 101is placed on or above the electrostatic film 102 to keep the film 102 ina constant state of charge. In some embodiments, the partiallyconductive layer 101 is not needed because the electrostatic film 102itself is partially conductive, but only to the extent that adequatecharge can be maintained and does not leak across the cells 112.

FIGS. 1B and 1C are a side views illustrating an “indent” state 114 and“bump” state 116, respectively, of a cell 112 according to the dynamictactile interface 10 of FIG. 1A. The electrodes 104 may be excited witha positive or negative charge. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1B,the electrode 104 has a positive charge. As described, the electrodes104 are arranged in a cell matrix pattern. In FIG. 1B, the individualelectrode 104 corresponds to an element, or cell 112, of the cellmatrix. By applying a positive charge to the electrode 104, the portionof electrostatic film 102 and the partially conductive layer 101immediately above the electrode 104 (i.e., the area above the cell 112corresponding to the positively charged electrode 104) is attracted tothe electrode because it is negatively charged, thus creating an“indent” state, or indentation 114. In FIG. 1C, the electrode has anegative charge. When a negative charge is applied to the electrode 104,the portion of the electrostatic film 102 and the partially conductivelayer 101 immediately above the corresponding cell 112 of the excitedelectrode 104 will repel from the electrode, thus creating a “bump”state, or protrusion 116.

FIG. 3A is a circuit diagram illustrating a charge circuit 350 accordingto the dynamic tactile interface 10 of FIG. 1A. The charge circuit 350may include an address line selector 370, a V⁻ address line 310, and aV⁺ address line 320. Addressing schemes similar to static RAM addressingschemes may be implemented to address the electrodes 104. The electrodes104 of the dynamic tactile interface 10 discussed with reference toFIGS. 1A-2B are coupled to a V⁻ address line 310 and a V⁺ address line320. The V⁻ address line 310 and the V⁺ address line 320 are locatedwithin the charge circuit 350. When the V⁻ address line 310 is excited,the electrode 104 exhibits a negative charge. As discussed, in responseto the negative charge, the area of electrostatic film 102 directlyabove the electrode 104 in cell 112 repels from the negatively excitedelectrode 104 and creates a protrusion 116. When the V⁺ address line 320is excited, the electrode 104 exhibits a positive charge. In response,the area of the electrostatic film 102 directly above the electrode 104in cell 112 attracts to the positively excited electrode 104 and createsan indentation 114.

The individual electrodes 104 in the interface 10 are interconnected bya series of electrically conductive row and column couplers. The row andcolumn couplers are in turn coupled to a power source (see FIG. 3A),thereby enabling the electrodes to be collectively or individuallyexcited. More specifically, any individual electrode 104 may beselectively excited by addressing that electrode using the correspondingrow and column couplers.

FIG. 2B is an elevated view illustrating excitation of individualelectrodes according to the dynamic tactile interface of FIG. 1A. Therow couplers 201 a, 201 b, 201 c, 201 d, 201 e are each electricallycoupled to a plurality of electrodes 104 that are in the same row (inthis example across all five columns of the matrix). The column couplers202 a, 202 b, 202 c, 202 d, 202 e are each electrically coupled to aplurality of electrodes 104 that are in the same column (in thisexample, across all five rows). For example, to cause a protrusion 116and effectuate a “bump” state in the electrode having a cell matrix siteof (3,1), a positive charge is applied to both the row coupler 201 c(i.e., row 3) and the column coupler 202 a (i.e., column 1). In someembodiments, for a single electrode 104 to be excited, it receives anexcitation from both its corresponding row and column couplers. Thus,the cells 112 (and the electrodes 104 therein) can be individuallyaddressed, allowing the creation of any regular periodic pattern, aperiodic pattern, random pattern, or tactile image on the device 10. Inthe example illustrated in FIG. 2B, the electrodes 104 having matrixsites of (3,1); (3,2); (4,1); (4,2); (5,1); and (5,2) have been excitedwith positive charges to create a protrusion 116 over the respectivecells 112. Similarly, the electrodes 104 having matrix sites of (1,2)and (1,3) have been excited with negative charges to create an indent114 over the respective cells 112.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram illustrating an addressing scheme accordingto the dynamic tactile interface 10 of FIG. 1A. Each individualelectrode 104 is associated with a charge circuit 350 that controls therespective V⁻ address line 310 and the V⁺ address line 320 for thatelectrode 104. Each charge circuit 350 is coupled to a row decoder 340and a column decoder 330. The row decoder 340 and column decoder 350 arecontrolled by a controller 360. In light of the present disclosure it isunderstood that the controller 360 is any microcontroller or electroniccircuit generally known in the art capable of sending excitation signalsto the row decoder 340 and column decoder 330, causing portions of theelectrostatic device 10 to exhibit an indent 114 or protrusion 116 (seeFIGS. 1B and 1C). In response to receiving user feedback, the controller360 is capable of updating and adjusting the device in areas thatrequire tactile feedback. The controller 360 excites the areas thatrequire tactile feedback by sending excitation signals to the rowdecoder 340 and column decoder 330. Based on a desired tactile patternon the device 10, the controller 360 determines when a particular rowcoupler 202 and column coupler 201 combination should be excited, andsends a corresponding excitation signal to the row decoder 340 andcolumn decoder 350. Such an excitation signal causes the row decoder 340to excite specific row coupler(s) 202 and the column decoder to excitespecific column coupler(s) 201.

In some embodiments, the charge circuits 350 include AND logic gate todetect a decoder signal from the row decoder 340 and the column decoder330. In this case, the charge circuit 350 will not excite the electrode104 unless a decoder signal is received from both the row decoder 340and column decoder 330. The charge circuit 350 also includes the AddressLine Selector 370 circuit to evaluate the decoder signal(s) from rowdecoder 340 and column decoder 350. The Address Line Selector 370evaluates these signals to determine whether to excite the V⁻ addressline 310 or the V⁺ address line 320 to effect a positive or negativecharge on the electrode, and thus an indentation 114 or protrusion 116.The charge circuit 350 is configured to excite the electrode 104 via V⁻address line 310 or the V⁺ address line 320 if the appropriate decodersignal(s) arrive from both the row decoder 340 and the column decoder330. The controller 360 is configured to send excitation signals to therow decoder 340 and column decoder 330, which in turn, sends the decodersignals to charge circuit 350. The charge circuit 350 determines whetherto excite the V⁻ address line 310 or the V⁺ address line 320. Asdiscussed, exciting the V⁻ address line 310 creates an indentation 114and exciting the V+address line 320 creates a protrusion 116.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of exciting electrodesaccording to the dynamic tactile interface 10 of FIG. 1A. As describedabove, areas of an image capable of tactile feedback are identified. Aspreviously described, electrodes in the dynamic tactile interface 10corresponding to the areas are identified. A voltage is applied to theelectrodes to create the desired state for the electrodes in the dynamictactile interface 10. The dynamic tactile interface 10 can beimplemented as part of a viewable display type of device, or as a devicewithout any viewable display.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a computer architecture or system1000 that is arranged in accordance with the present disclosure. Exampleembodiments of dynamic tactile interfaces 10 include a controller 360,which may be realized and/or implemented as illustrated by FIG. 6. Asystem bus 1002 transports data amongst the Central Processing Unit(CPU) 1004, RAM 1006, the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) 1008 andother components. The CPU 1004 may include a cache memory component1024. The RAM 1006 may include a dynamic tactile interface process 1200.The dynamic tactile interface process 1200 may determine the controlinformation or excitation signal requirements for the row decoders 340and the column decoders 330 to produce the desired tactile patterndescribed above with reference, for example, to the controller 360 andFIG. 3B. The computer system 1000 may include one or more externalstorage ports 1017 for accessing a hard disk drive, optical storagedrive (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, DVD-RW), flash memory, tape device, orother storage device (not shown). The relevant storage device(s) arecoupled through the external storage port 1017 which is coupled to thesystem bus 1002 via a disk controller 1022. A keyboard and pointingdevice (e.g. mouse, touch pad) (not shown) can be coupled to thekeyboard/mouse port(s) 1012, and other I/O devices could be coupled toadditional I/O port(s) 1013, which are coupled to the system bus 1002through the I/O controller 1010. Additional ports or devices, such asserial ports, parallel ports, firewire adapters, or biometric devices(not shown), may be utilized through the I/O controller 1010. A displaydevice (not shown) can be coupled to a display device port 1014 which iscoupled to the system bus 1002 through the video controller 1015. Anetwork device (not shown), including but not limited to an Ethernetdevice or other device having networking capability, can be coupled to anetwork port 1020 which is coupled through the network controller 1016to the system bus 1002. The computer system 1000 may be wirelesslycoupled to a network device that is configured for wireless operation(not shown), including but not limited to wireless routers, using anantenna 1028 coupled to a wireless controller 1026 coupled to the systembus 1002, where the antenna transmits/receives signals to/from thenetwork device. The computer system 1000 may include one or more USBports 1023. A USB device (not shown), including but not limited to aprinter, scanner, keyboard, mouse, digital camera, storage device, PDA,cellular phone, biometric device, webcam, and I/O adapters can becoupled to the USB port 1023 which is coupled to the system bus 1002through the USB controller 1011. Other devices, such as cellular phones,PDAs, and other portable devices may also be coupled wirelessly via awireless I/O antenna 1032 that is coupled to a wireless I/O controller1030. Examples of wireless I/O technologies include, but are not limitedto, Bluetooth, Infrared (IR), and Radio-Frequency (RF). Audio devices,such as microphones, speakers, or headphones may be coupled to a soundport 1038 that is coupled to a sound controller 1034 that is coupled tothe system bus 1002. Expansion slots 1018 can include Industry StandardArchitecture (ISA) slots, Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)expansion slots, PCI Express expansion slots, Accelerated Graphics Port(AGP) slots or any other slot generally known in the art to allowadditional cards to be placed into the computer system 1000. These slotscan be used to couple network cards, video cards, sound cards, modemsand any other peripheral devices generally used with a computer. Thecomputer system 1000 also includes a source of power (not shown),including but not limited to a power supply coupled to an externalsource of power, and/or an internal or external battery. Detaileddescriptions of these devices have been omitted for convenience only andshould not be construed as limiting.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented with anycombination of hardware and software. If implemented as acomputer-implemented apparatus, the embodiment is implemented usingmeans for performing all of the steps and functions described above.

The embodiments of the present disclosure can be included in an articleof manufacture (e.g., one or more computer program products) having, forinstance, computer useable media. The media has embodied therein, forinstance, computer readable program code means for providing andfacilitating the mechanisms of the embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The article of manufacture can be included as part of acomputer system or sold separately.

There is little distinction left between hardware and softwareimplementations of aspects of systems; the use of hardware or softwareis generally (but not always, in that in certain contexts the choicebetween hardware and software can become significant) a design choicerepresenting cost vs. efficiency tradeoffs. There are various vehiclesby which processes and/or systems and/or other technologies describedherein can be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and/or firmware), andthat the preferred vehicle will vary with the context in which theprocesses and/or systems and/or other technologies are deployed. Forexample, if an implementer determines that speed and accuracy areparamount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardware and/or firmwarevehicle; if flexibility is paramount, the implementer may opt for amainly software implementation; or, yet again alternatively, theimplementer may opt for some combination of hardware, software, and/orfirmware.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments ofthe devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts,and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/orexamples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will beunderstood by those within the art that each function and/or operationwithin such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented,individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software,firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In some embodiments,several portions of the subject matter described herein may beimplemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), orother integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art willrecognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, inwhole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integratedcircuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or morecomputers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computersystems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors(e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors),as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designingthe circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmwarewould be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light ofthis disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capableof being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, andthat an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described hereinapplies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium usedto actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearingmedium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable typemedium such as a flexible disk, a hard disk drive (HDD), a Compact Disc(CD), a Digital Video Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory,etc.; and a transmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analogcommunication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wiredcommunications link, a wireless communication link, etc.).

Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common within the artto describe devices and/or processes in the fashion set forth herein,and thereafter use engineering practices to integrate such describeddevices and/or processes into data processing systems. That is, at leasta portion of the devices and/or processes described herein can beintegrated into a data processing system via a reasonable amount ofexperimentation. Those having skill in the art will recognize that atypical data processing system generally includes one or more of asystem unit housing, a video display device, a memory such as volatileand non-volatile memory, processors such as microprocessors and digitalsignal processors, computational entities such as operating systems,drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs, one ormore interaction devices, such as a touch pad or screen, and/or controlsystems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback forsensing position and/or velocity; control motors for moving and/oradjusting components and/or quantities). A typical data processingsystem may be implemented utilizing any suitable commercially availablecomponents, such as those typically found in datacomputing/communication and/or network computing/communication systems.

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or coupled with, different othercomponents. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures aremerely examples and that in fact many other architectures can beimplemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense,any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality iseffectively “associated” such that the desired functionality isachieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve aparticular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each othersuch that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective ofarchitectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components soassociated can also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or“operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality,and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewedas being “operably couplable”, to each other to achieve the desiredfunctionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but arenot limited to physically mateable and/or physically interactingcomponents and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interactingcomponents and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactablecomponents.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, evenif a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitlyrecited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitationshould typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in generalsuch a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood toinclude the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, otheraspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes ofillustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scopeand spirit being indicated by the following claims.

1. A method of exciting a dynamic tactile interface having a pluralityof electrodes, the method comprising: identifying an area within animage that is capable of tactile feedback; identifying, by a controller,a first subset of the plurality of electrodes in the dynamic tactileinterface corresponding to the area; and applying a voltage to each ofthe electrodes of the first subset of the plurality of electrodes tocreate a desired state for each electrode corresponding to the areacapable of tactile feedback.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining a row and a column for each electrode of thefirst subset of the plurality of electrodes; and applying excitationsignals to a row encoder and a column encoder corresponding to the rowand the column for each of the first subset of the plurality ofelectrodes.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: exciting anindividual electrode selected from the first subset of the plurality ofelectrodes if a decoder signal is received at a charge circuitassociated with individual the electrode in response the excitationsignals received at the row encoder and column encoder from thecontroller.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the voltage applied to theindividual electrode is based on the decoder signal received from therow encoder and the column encoder.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereinapplying a positive voltage to the individual electrode creates thedesired state of an indentation.
 6. The method of claim 4, whereinapplying a negative voltage to the individual electrode creates thedesired state of a protrusion.
 7. The method of claim 3, furthercomprising: detecting an input in the area within the image capable oftactile feedback; identifying a new area within the image that iscapable of tactile feedback; identifying a second subset of theplurality of electrodes corresponding to the new area; and applying thevoltage to each electrode of the second subset of the plurality ofelectrodes to create the desired state in the new areas capable oftactile feedback.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic tactileinterface includes an electrostatic film and the applied voltage resultsin the desired state being formed on the electrostatic film.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the image is a visual image associated withthe dynamic tactile interface.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein theimage is a Braille symbol.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the imagerepresents an actuator in a keypad.
 12. A dynamic tactile interfacecomprising: an electrostatic film capable of having at least an indentstate and a protrusion state; a plurality of electrodes arranged in amatrix configuration and positioned below the electrostatic film; aplurality of support members located in between and perpendicular to theelectrostatic film and the plurality of electrodes; a plurality ofcharge circuits coupled to the plurality of electrodes; and a controllerconfigured to determine areas within an image that are configured fortactile feedback, determine a first subset of the electrodes thatcorrespond to the areas, and send excitation signals to excite the firstsubset of electrodes.
 13. The dynamic tactile interface of claim 12,further comprising a row encoder coupled to the plurality of chargecircuits and a column encoder coupled to the plurality of chargecircuits, wherein the controller is configured to control the rowencoder and the column encoder to address the plurality of electrodes.14. The dynamic tactile interface of claim 13, wherein each of theplurality of charge circuits includes a corresponding individual chargecircuit arranged to excite the corresponding one of the plurality ofcharge circuits when activated in response to a first decoder signal anda second decoder signal being asserted, wherein the individual chargecircuit is configured to receive the first decoder signal from the rowencoder and the second decoder signal from the column encoder.
 15. Thedynamic tactile interface of claim 14, wherein the individual chargecircuit is arranged to excite a corresponding electrode from theplurality of electrodes by applying a voltage to the correspondingelectrode in response to the first and second decoder signals receivedfrom the row encoder and the column encoder.
 16. The dynamic tactileinterface of claim 14, wherein the individual electrode of the pluralityof electrodes is configured to cause an indentation in the electrostaticfilm in response to a positive voltage from the corresponding individualcharge circuit from the plurality of charge circuits.
 17. The dynamictactile interface of claim 14, wherein the individual electrode of theplurality of electrodes is configured to cause a protrusion in theelectrostatic film in response to a negative voltage from thecorresponding individual charge circuit from the plurality of chargecircuits.
 18. The dynamic tactile interface of claim 14, wherein thecontroller is configured to identify new areas within the image that areconfigured for tactile feedback upon detecting an input in the areawithin the image capable of tactile feedback, determine a second subsetof electrodes that correspond to the new areas, and send the excitationsignals to the row encoder and the column encoder to excite the secondsubset of electrodes.
 19. The dynamic tactile interface of claim 12,wherein the image is a visual image associated with the tactile display.20. The dynamic tactile interface of claim 12, wherein the imageincludes non-visual areas of tactile feedback.
 21. An apparatus forinterfacing with a dynamic tactile interface, the tactile interfacecomprising an electrostatic film capable of having an indent state and aprotrusion state, a plurality of electrodes positioned below theelectrostatic film, a plurality of charge circuits coupled to theelectrodes, and a plurality of support members located in between andperpendicular to the electrostatic film and the plurality of electrodes,the apparatus comprising: a controller coupled to the plurality ofcharge circuits, the controller configured to determine areas within animage on the dynamic tactile interface that are configured for tactilefeedback, determine a subset of the electrodes that correspond to theareas, and send excitation signals to the charge circuits to excite thesubset of electrodes.
 22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the areascapable of tactile feedback include virtual buttons.
 23. The apparatusof claim 22, wherein the areas capable of tactile feedback includetactile feedback to distinguish a first virtual button from a secondvirtual button.